A few cranks are expecting the end of the world next year. Well, it just about possible, but highly unlikely. Here is my random mix of projections for a few likely happenings next year. The web will mature as a political force, creating more problems for existing politicians, who may try to resist changes via regulation or demanding the right to turn systems off, but this will be a losing battle.

The 13” pad will come out. We have 4” phones, 7” book readers and 10” pads. The 13” one is magazine sized and opens up potential for many more apps, especially in the home and office where size is more important than being able to fit in a briefcase.

Smartphones will take off for payments, vouchers, and some other cash forms. Retailers will start to integrate these far better, so that discounts, loyalty schemes, personalised ads, navigation and payments are all seamlessly interwoven.

Near field comms will not only be used for payments but a range of other apps too. We’ll also see direct transfer of content between people’s phones grow in share compared to traffic using the networks.

Christmas next year may see video semi-transparent visors high on the list of demands, so we can all see the world with electronic overlays. A few companies think they can make that deadline, but unexpected technical difficulties could move it into 2013.

Wash-free clothes will appear in the high street. They will have special coatings on the fabrics so that you can wear them without them getting dirty. Dirt will fall off and bacteria killed. Some people will still insist on washing them, just as they iron iron-free shirts.

Flexible displays will also appear and might well be used in clothes. 2012 may well be the year that the ‘Teletubby’ T-shirt makes its appearance. Even if clothes don’t use them, we’ll see video bracelets and other digital body adornment. Video tattoos and active makeup might even make their debut if graphene R & D can meet the deadlines. And it just might.

Loads of graphene products will be invented, and some even developed.
AI will make ongoing developments, especially in the memristors field.
Similarly, synthetic biology will make some headlines, though I can’t guess what they will be yet.

A ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ style magic compass that knows what you want from your online activity and points towards your heart’s greatest desire.
Self driving cars have been in successful trials now for a few years. They might appear this next year in the showroom, and even trials on the streets of London.

Cheap miniature video cameras, high speed mobile broadband and the cloud, will all push the next generation of surveillance systems and neighbourhood watch. We’ll see better integration of handheld devices and AV kit, so it will be far easier to throw media onto any device to listen to it or watch it. Cloud working will extend this to your whole library.

New generation viruses and trojans on smartphones and pads will force people to run security apps on them, slowing them down and requiring frequent updates.

Face recognition software will further reduce privacy on the street and online. There will be some red faces and more interesting newspapers as people are recognised and tagged doing things they oughtn’t. Increasing presence of video cameras will accelerate this trend.

2012 will be the year that personal TV takes off. Excellent quality cheap video cameras and software will make it easier to create video and put it online. YouTube is already adjusting to this need and now the barriers have fallen, the trickle of high quality amateur content will become a flood.

3D personal printers will arrive in our homes and office, and bigger and better ones will appear in local high streets to offer rapid prototyping and fast production of all manner of toys, ornaments, accessories and gadgets. With easier production linking directly to easier 3d creativity programs, we may see an explosion of digital crafts.

Social networking will change. Facebook will decline due to boredom setting in and lack of new users. New sites will move up offering new ideas with fewer privacy concerns. We’ll also see tiny devices specially made for social networking, the first generation of digital jewellery.

Thorium reactors, solar, shale gas and other energy sources developing rapidly today will make big leaps in 2012. We’ll be one step closer to a cleaner world full of cheap clean energy, but there will still be many who are increasingly desperate for an environmental catastrophe to come over the horizon.

Recession will continue as we ride over the second hump of the Loch Ness Monster recovery.

But all the while, we will see engineers and scientists developing the tools that will make the world a better place when the economy is back on the rails. 2012 won’t be easy, but we’ll be another year closer to a better world.

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